People look at a dead young male fin whale that washed up Monday between the Paradise Cove and Point Dume areas of Malibu, Calif. on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. The rotting carcass near celebrity homes is causing a gigantic cleanup problem as authorities try to decide who’s responsible for getting rid of it. Los Angeles County lifeguards planned to try to pull the 40,000-pound carcass out to sea, perhaps at high tide Thursday, said Cindy Reyes, executive director of the California Wildlife Center.( AP Photo/Nick Ut)

MALIBU, Calif. — A whale carcass rotting near celebrity homes in Malibu is causing a gigantic cleanup problem as authorities try to decide who’s responsible for getting rid of it.

Los Angeles County lifeguards planned to try to pull the 40,000-pound carcass out to sea at high tide, said Cindy Reyes, executive director of the California Wildlife Center.

However, that may be too much of a job, and the whale was unlikely to be back in the sea anytime Thursday, county fire Inspector Brian Riley said.

“You would need a tug boat to drag it out to sea,” Riley told City News Service.

“It is entrenched in the sand and impossible to tow free even at high tide,” Riley said. “Burial at low tide will be difficult as well as land removal. It’s in an area with bad access.”

The city was not sure who would do the job, spokeswoman Olivia Damavandi said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors was not responsible for disposing of the more than 40-foot carcass, said Carol Baker, who represents the agency.

“It’s on a private beach” controlled by homeowners down to the high tide line and the state is responsible for the tidelands, Baker said.

The young male fin whale washed up Monday between Paradise Cove and Point Dume, near the homes of Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan.

The whale may have been hit by a ship and had a gash to its back and a damaged spine, according to results of a necropsy conducted Tuesday by the wildlife center.

“It’s relatively common for it to happen. It’s really unfortunate,” Reyes told the Los Angeles Times.

Such accidents have become more common as increased numbers of migrating blue, fin and humpback whales swim to California’s shore to feast on shrimp-like krill.

Fin whales are endangered and about 2,300 live along the West Coast. They’re the second-largest species of whale after blue whales and can grow up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live to be 90 years old.

Although dead whales don’t often arrive in wealthy neighborhoods, they do come ashore on beaches across the country fairly frequently. Getting rid of them is often not easy.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING RID OF A DEAD WHALE?

In this case there is disagreement, because the 41-foot mammal ended up on a private beach. Malibu officials say they aren’t sure who should haul it away. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors says it isn’t responsible because the whale is on private property, meaning it’s up to the owners to get rid of it.

CAN LOS ANGELES COUNTY LIFEGUARDS HAUL IT AWAY?

Maybe, but that agency says it may big too big for one of its Baywatch boats to handle. They say it could require a tugboat like those used to guide giant ships in and out of ocean harbors. The lifeguards have indicated they’ll try when the tide is right.

WHY DO WHALES WASH UP ON BEACHES?

Experts say some simply die of natural causes. Others become ill. Some seem to have gotten confused and lost their way. This one, a young fin whale, appears to have been hit by a ship because its spine was damaged and its back contained a large gash. A 47-foot whale found dead on a beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore suffered a similar fate in June.

HOW DO AUTHORITIES DISPOSE OF A DEAD WHALE?

Experts recommend either using a boat big enough to haul it away at high tide or burying it in the sand. The first option requires dragging it far enough so that it won’t float back. The second requires large, expensive digging equipment. Sometimes, if the whale ends up on a deserted beach and not anywhere near a wealthy neighborhood, authorities can just leave it there for nature to take its course. That’s what they did with a 30-foot gray whale that washed up on a beach near San Simeon last April.

HOW AUTHORITIES SHOULDN’T DISPOSE OF A DEAD WHALE:

By blowing it up. They tried that on a 41-foot sperm whale that washed up on a beach in Florence, Ore., in 1970. The blast rained blubber down on spectators a quarter mile away, including one chunk so large it crushed a car. The effort did result in a dramatic video that can be found on YouTube, however.

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